The highway system as it exists today requires use of some system to help identify areas of the highway on which autos should or should not drive. The most common example is the shoulder area of the highway which is sloped and soft and separates the driving surface from the hazardous off-road ditches and the like.
Many systems have been offered which will visibly and audibly make drivers aware of the safe boundary lines.
One such system involves the use of tubular markers. One such device is illustrated by the Ebinger patent #3,709,112.
The Pellowski patent #3,362,305 illustrates the use of an arcuate steel strip which has one end embedded in a well of hardenable material and is flanked on either side by markers which have grooves shaped to receive the arcuate strip as it is passed over and bent by a vehicle.
Other guide post systems of either a temporary or permanent nature are illustrated by the following patents: Byrd U.S. Pat. NOS. 3,212,415 and 3,091,997; Abrams 3,380,428; and Mahoney 3,340,779.
Most systems have been discarded in favor of a steel post with a reflector on top. This system, too, however, has proven to have serious disadvantages. The steel posts themselves do not offer visibility and depend almost entirely on their reflectors for visible appearance. Furthermore, they become permanently damaged when struck by an auto then have to be replaced. This attrition rate is very high and represents a significant cost in highway maintenance budgets. The steel posts do great amounts of damage to vehicles which come in contact with them.
Highway guide posts to be of greatest value would be one which does not require complicated or expensive installation. It should have a high degree of visibility, be durable, self-erecting, and generate a noise when struck by a vehicle, but would not be damaged by the vehicle or damage the striking vehicle.
The invention described is designed to meet the desirable guide post features outlined above.